6 Christian Basketball Players That Keep Christ at the Center of Their Game

Lipscomb Bisons Guard Will Pruit of Lipscomb University, a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, recently made it his first NCAA Tournament this year after his team advanced to the annual tournament for the second time in program history.

In a recent interview with Sports Spectrum, Pruitt references the Bible verse Psalm 119:105 in his Instagram bio. It reads, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."

He also shared what his purpose is when it comes to playing on the court.

"Throughout my time here, I feel like I've lived into that more and more," he said, "where basketball is not my god, but it's something to proclaim the Good News of Jesus and expand the Kingdom."

Pruitt has also been part of a three-year-long Bible study alongside fellow Lipscomb players as well as players from other schools in the Nashville area.

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Auburn Tigers Center Dylan Cardwell, who also hosts the show "Chillin with Dylan," recently shared how committed his team was to God during his five years at Auburn University in Alabama. 

"I've never seen a team pursue the Lord as much as this team has," Cardwell said. 

He also shared that his favorite quote is, "When God is all you have, you'll realize God is all you need."

During a recent interview with CBN Sports, he spoke about how God saved him and said, "ANYONE can have that JOY."

"He means everything," he added. 

Cardwell's Instagram bio includes the words "servant of Christ" and "God is greater!"

In a 2022 post, which included a picture of his baptism, he celebrated his one year anniversary of his conversion to Christianity. 

"Today marks a year since I surrendered my life to Christ, and man, has this been an amazing year!" Cardwell wrote. "So many blessed memories, the good, the bad, the ugly… but through it all, I found peace in knowing my God is greater. Wouldn't trade it for the world, I love you God🤎 it's only crazy until you do it!"

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Trae Benham, who plays guard at High Point, North Carolina, also made his first NCAA Tournament debut this year. Last month, he played his best game of the season when he matched a season-high 17 points and added three rebounds and three steals as High Point wrapped up the regular-season championship.

He attributed his success to the Lord during the post-game interview on Feb. 26.

"The thing that has helped us so much is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," he said. "I give Him all the glory because it's Him that's the leader, and He is the one that shows …all the guys on the team how to properly sacrifice their own ego for the betterment of something bigger than themselves."

Despite previously playing for Lipscomb, a Christian university, he showed how he went through a low point in his life and that he had wrapped up his identity in basketball. Benham would ultimately give his life to Christ on Nov. 23, 2021.

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Ja'Kobe Walter, who was selected in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors, shared how God has been at the center of his life since he was young. 

"My parents put me in the church at a young age and have always told me to put God first in anything I do," Walter told His Huddle in 2023 before heading to Baylor University. "Faith has always been important for me since the beginning."

He added that maintaining a proper perspective of God comes through thanking Him for every blessing.

"God has given me opportunities that I would've never thought I would have," Walter said.

In announcing himself in last year's draft, Walter thanked "my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because He makes all things possible. He has walked with me all my life to get me where I am now."

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Cam Johnson, a 28-year-old forward for the Brooklyn Nets, attributed his Catholic upbringing as well as his grandmother for growing in his faith. 

"My grandma, she's a prayer warrior to the fullest extent, and she kind of told my dad to use this Bible verse as a prayer every time you go into a game, into a competition, into an important meeting, whatever it may be. And he instilled that down into me," Johnson said during a 2021 press conference. 

He also used to wear jersey #23 in honor of Psalm 23, which he recites prior to every game. That jersey number is well-known and also belonged to basketball legend Michael Jordan, a childhood hero of Cam Johnson.

Johnson told his former chaplain Travis Hearn in a recent appearance on the "Travis Hearn" podcast concerning the importance of pregame chapel services. 

"It's like doses of church before every game. Doses of the Word. Doses of faith," Johnson said. 

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Jrue Holiday, the 34-year-old guard for the Boston Celtics, is an outspoken Christian and asserts that his "priority" is Christ. 

"We most bear resemblance to Christ, when we bear another's burden," Holiday's Instagram bio reads. 

Through his 16 years playing in the NBA, Holiday has been open about his belief "in a God that loves me."

"I started to reach more towards him," he said. "A lot of times when something bad happens, that's where you can start to seek God more."

Johnson also shared how he and his wife grew closer to God after she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, when pregnant with their first child. 

"I started to reach more towards him," he said. "A lot of times when something bad happens, that's where you can start to seek God more."

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